New Delhi: Victims of red terror from Bastar held a press conference at the Constitution Club of India on August 29, sharing their pain along appealing to all Members of Parliament to hear their plea.
“The victims opposed the candidature of B. Sudershan Reddy for the post of Vice President and urged MPs not to support him,” said a release issued by the organisers after the presser.
In the press meet organised under the banner of Bastar Peace Committee [Bastar Shanti Samiti], the victims said that “It was B. Sudershan Reddy who had imposed a ban on the tribal people’s movement against Naxalism. Because of this, Maoism spread rapidly in Bastar and turned into a deadly wound, the effects of which continue to this day.”
Delhi: A victim, says, "There was widespread terror due to Naxalism, and our common people had started a movement called Salwa Judum to counter Naxal violence. In 2011, this movement was banned by our Supreme Court through Judge Sudarshan Reddy. As a result, all the atrocities… pic.twitter.com/5OsfEY6v7j
— IANS (@ians_india) August 29, 2025
The victims during the interaction with the media alleged “that while the Salwa Judum had weakened the Maoist organisation and brought it to the verge of collapse, but on the advice of some Naxal supporters in Delhi, it was banned. They said that before imposing this ban, no one cared to understand their suffering, their conditions, or how the decision would affect their lives. The people of Bastar were never asked what they wanted.”
Narrating his ordeal one of the victims, Siyaram Ramteke, said in anger that had Sudershan Reddy not given that verdict, his tragedy would never have happened. He narrated how he, an ordinary farmer, was shot three times by Maoists, then attacked with stones and left for dead. Though alive, he is now forced to live as a disabled person. Siyaram said that when he heard that Sudershan Reddy had been nominated for Vice President, he was not only outraged but also deeply hurt.
Another victim from Bastar, Kedarnath Kashyap, said that Maoists brutally murdered his brother after Salwa Judum was disbanded. His brother’s stomach was slit open and his intestines pulled out. Kedarnath said that if the 2011 verdict against Salwa Judum had not been delivered, Maoists would have been wiped out from their area by 2014, and his brother would still be alive.
During the press conference, the widow of martyr Mohan Uike, who lost his life in Naxal violence, narrated through tears how Maoists ambushed and killed her husband after Salwa Judum was banned. She said that at the time of his sacrifice, she was holding a three-month-old daughter who never got to see her father. The girl, now 10 years old, was present at the press conference with her mother, appealing to the nation for justice.
Delhi: A victim, says, "We have lost our husbands, and as a result, our lives in Bastar have been full of terror. If Salwa Judum had continued, such incidents would not have happened, and this major tragedy could have been avoided. Some lost their legs, some lost their husbands,… pic.twitter.com/9PTV5z7FIK
— IANS (@ians_india) August 29, 2025
Mahadev Doodhi, a survivor of the Chingavaram attack, spoke in broken Hindi mixed with Gondi. He described how Maoists targeted a passenger bus travelling from Dantewada, killing 32 people. Mahadev lost one leg in the attack and is now forced to live as a handicapped person.
Jayaram of Bastar Shanti Samiti said that these victims came to Delhi today with their pain and sorrow, requesting MPs not to support anyone who destroyed their lives and turned Bastar into hell. Mangau Ram Kawde of the Samiti added that letters have also been written to all MPs with the same appeal. He explained that there are thousands of families in Bastar who suffered due to the ban on Salwa Judum and endured the terror of Maoist violence. Today, they feel deeply hurt by the candidature of Sudershan Reddy. This is why the Samiti, along with some victims, has come to Delhi to make their plea.
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